With One Hand Tied Behind My Back
by VioletteShadow
Summary: Harry finds out he has a soulmate that needs his help. Together they help each other make it through the war in one piece. This is your typical cliche Harry/Draco Veela fic. I had pretty much ran out of ones to read so I started my own. This is my first fic, and it is typed on an ipad so weird mistakes are prevalent. It should get better, and I will fix mistakes! I own nothing :)
1. Chapter 1

With One Hand Tied Behind My Back

Sweat beaded along the brow of Harry Potter's face, scrunched in concentration. He was entirely focused on the detailed task at hand, which happened to be an appendectomy. He was performing the procedure on a recently deceased elderly wizard who had passed away in his sleep from old age. Madame Pompfree had been scheduling these lessons and surgeries twice a week for him since his third year when he had come to her and expressed an ernest interest in healing.

Harry new that most everyone expected him to become an auror after graduating Hogwarts, but he had no wish to see any more lives lost. As soon as he could fulfill the damn prophesy and face Voldemort once and for all he was done fighting. He would find a nice quite cottage somewhere in the countryside, floo to the Burrow each Sunday for dinner, go over to Ron and Hermione's and play with their kids (if they ever admitted their feelings for each other!), and just lead a nice quite life. He may even find a nice young man to settle down with, but Harry wasn't too sure that would ever happen.

Harry had accepted his sexuality easily. After all, it is hard to stress about liking other blokes when you are constantly worried about being killed by a madman. That, however, did not make the Wizarding World more accepting of homosexuality. Not surprisingly, the archaic views help by much of the Wizarding population included an intolerance for same sex couples, just as they did for magical creatures, muggles, and anything else outside the norm. Even many of those pitted against Voldemort held such beliefs. Much of the Wizarding World may not want to erraticate creatures and muggles, but they still looked down on them as they did those who were gay.

For this reason Harry kept his sexuality quiet. It wasn't as if he was looking to date right now anyway. He was far too busy to deal with relationships, and Harry know himself well enough to know that he was just not the type for casual flings like Seamus or Lavender. He did not understand the allure of shagging a random bloke and then walking away. Maybe it was due to his loveless childhood, but Harry dreamt of forging a deep bond with someone even more than he dreamt of sex.

"Watch your cauterizing, Mr. Potter. If this man's heart were pumping there would be blood gushing from that tissue!" Madame Pompfree's reprimand cut through Harry's wandering thoughts and brought him back to the task at hand. With renewed focus he gripped his wand in his right hand and straightened the viewing mirror in his left. The viewing mirror was an invention he and Madame Pompfree were working on together. Harry had come up with the idea when attempting to explaining muggle X-rays and CAT scans.

Due to the use of potions and charms wizards seldom had to preform surgeries. Problems arose when wizards did require more complex, or subtle, medical procedures. Wizarding diagnostics were sorely primitive. Oddly in a Wizarding hospital one was more likely to die from appendicitis than a dark curse. Curses were easily traced and had counter curses, where as general healing charms only went so far to cure natural disease. Wizards had no access to muggle imaging and diagnostic equipment. If a person was suspected of internal injuries or disease the only way wizards had to fix the problem was cut them open and hope to fine the problem in an exploratory surgery before the patient passed away. They also had no concept of genetic diseases, blood work, transfusions, or many other common muggle medical practices.

Harry vowed that he would change this. He may not be a pureblood, but he was the heir of two of the most influential houses in the Wizarding world, the Potters and the Blacks. He was also The Boy Who Lived, and although he had never wanted nor used his celebrity for personal gain, he would for this. He would be a healer and he would save lives...if he survived long enough to do so.

Focusing back on his viewing mirror, which acted much like a muggle video camera and MRI combined. He was able to view into the patient's body without opening them up. He was currently working on creating a large mirror that could view the whole body at once, but for now had only perfected a smaller model. The largest obstacle that they had run into thus far was that the operator had to control the mirror them self in order to focus it properly, which meant that they had to do magic with both hands simultaneously. Harry was nearly ambidextrous, allowing him to pick this up much more quickly than Madam Pompfree had. He attributed this to his Quiddich training, where he would force himself to practice catching the snitch with both his left and right hands while steering his broom with the other.

As he started magically stitching the last portion of the internal wound Harry felt his mind pulled away from his task yet again. He was momentarily consumed by a feeling of utter hopelessness and fear, which was quickly replaced with a bone deep sense that something within him was missing. This had been happening with alarming frequency over the last few months and it was causing Harry a good deal of stress. He had no idea where these feelings were coming from, but he often had to fight the urge to go hunting for something. Although what that something was he didn't have a clue. It was making focusing difficult, which was not convenient when one was trying to study for school, practice medi-wizardry, and read every defensive and dark arts textbook in the library.

"Harry Dear, are you quite alright?"

Harry was snapped out of his troubled thoughts and quickly placed his final stitch and banished the detached appendix. At least he was able to preform the entire surgery with magic without ever having to open up the cadaver. If it had be a living human being his distraction could have caused serious complications.

"I am sorry Madame Pompfree. I don't know what is wrong with me lately!" Harry sighed frustratedly.

Madam Pompfree patted his shoulder, "There, there, dear. Nothing to be bothered by. Everyone gets distracted occasionally. Have you been getting enough rest? Do we need to cut our sessions back?"

Harry rubbed his eyes, "No, ma'am. I am getting plenty of sleep. I have just been having these strange, awful...feelings."

"Why don't you come into my office and we can talk about it over a cuppa?" She smiled warmly. She had become such a comforting presence in Harry's life he decided to take her up on her offer. Maybe telling someone about these episodes would ease his mind.

"Thank you, I think I would like that."

A few minutes later had Harry and his mentor sitting in her cozy office in to arm chairs by a crackling fire. Harry sipped at his mint tea and relaxed into the welcoming cushions. Madame Pompfree looked him over with a discerning eye before starting, "So, tell me about these feelings Harry."

"Well," Harry thought about it a moment, "I guess it started over the summer. Out of the blue I will be overcome by fear, or loneliness, or anger, or sadness. It only lasts for a second, sometimes less, but afterwords I am always left with a sense of loss...like part of me is missing and I am supposed the find it. It feels so strong sometimes I find myself starting to stand, or leave wherever I am to start looking. Sometimes I feel like I am on the verge of a panic attack or something. Like if I don't start looking right away I am going to fall apart. The weirdest part is that these emotions, the sad ones, they don't feel like mine...if that makes any sense."

Harry looked down at his hands, not wanting to see what Madam Pompfree thought of his issues. Would she think him unfit to be a mediwizard? Would she call a halt to their training? He loved his mediwizard training, even more than he loved Quiddich. It made him feel whole and accomplished like nothing else did.

A clock on the mantel clicked away in the silence that Harry's statement had left and after a few minutes without a response from Madame Pompfree Harry couldn't stand it anymore and looked up at her. His mentor seemed lost in thought as she stared into the crackling flames. A puzzled frown marred her features, but no look of condemnation was present, which made Harry relax slightly.

When she did speak the sudden sound of her voice in the stillness made Harry jump. "How old are you now Harry?"

"I turned sixteen this past summer, about two months ago."

"I thought so, but that is odd..." She trailed off, back into silent contemplation.

Harry tried to relax while he waited for her to resurface. He still felt the need to go looking for...something. It was like an itch under his skin urging him to scour the earth until he found his missing piece.

"Harry Dear, are you sexually active?"

Harry choked on his tea and spent the next minute coughing and red faced, "Wh...what?"

"Are you sexually active? No need to be embarrassed dear." She repeated serenely.

Harry felt his face flame even hotter as he shook his head no.

"And this urge that you have to search out something...has it been getting stronger as time goes on."

"Yes ma'am." Harry managed through his embarrassment.

"Hummm, very odd indeed. Well Harry, I have a theory, but I can not confirm that this is the true issue since there are some inconsistencies in your case."

Harry sat up strait, eager to hear what she had come up with.

"Every decade or so we have a student come into a creature inheritance while attending school. Are you aware of creature inheritances?" Madame Pompfree was in full lecture mode, which prompted Harry to respond as he usually did during their mediwizard lessons.

"A creature inheritance is when a witch or wizard with creature lineage comes of age on their seventeenth birthday. On this day they may inherit a few of the abilities of their creature ancestor. This is most commonly seen in France where the Veela and Wizarding populations live in close proximity and bonding is frequent. Fleur would be an example of this. She is a quarter veela and on her seventeenth birthday she inherited a slight allure. Although it is very weak compared to the strength of a full Veela."

"Very good Harry," Madame Pompfree beamed, "Have you heard of a soul-bond yet?"

Harry shook his head, "No ma'am."

"In very rare instances magical creatures share soul-bonds with a true soulmate. This is the mate that they are destined to spend their life with. Occasionally when a Hogwarts student comes into a creature inheritance it is found that they are soul-bound to another creature."

Harry had a sinking feeling in his stomach, "I don't have any creature blood in me though, do I?"

"No, not that I am aware of, no. But in extremely rare instances a powerful human is found to have a soul-bond with a magical creature. I believe that this is what is happening to you, Harry. I believe that you have a true soulmate. It is a rare and precious gift to have a soul-bond with another being."

"But I am only sixteen. Didn't you say that you didn't feel a soul-bond until you are seventeen?"

That puzzled frown crossed, "That is the part that isn't quite adding up. I have never heard of a case where a soul-bond has been felt before a seventeenth birthday. Although there may be a few signs before coming of age, such as your inclination to remain a virgin for your mate..."

"I haven't been...abstaining because of that." Harry interrupted, blushing to his roots again.

"It is a subconscious instinct, dear. Also depending on you and your mate's personalities you may have also done some posturing or showing off to them, if you have met them yet that is."

"Ummm, I don't think I have... Are you sure I even have a soulmate? Couldn't this all just be coincidence?"

Madame Pompfree smiled warmly, "Of course I may be mistaken, but I doubt it."

Harry groaned a little and slouched back in his chair, "Why me?! Why is it always me?"

"Harry, dear, this is a good thing. If you do share a soul-bond with someone you have the opportunity to feel one of the deepest connections possible to share with another. As soon as you recognize your mate you will immediately feel grounded and content."

Harry had had a lot of practice absorbing life changing information, but this was still a difficult news to take in.  
"Umm, Madame Pompfree, what if my...mate...what if she... I mean to say I am... I can't...girls..." Harry stopped and hung his head his first time trying to explain that he was gay and he couldn't even get the words out.

"My, my Harry, you are a homosexual?" Harry nodded, looking up at his Mentor of the last three years. "Never would have guessed, even after working so closely with you. I do wonder if your mate shall be male then. I have never heard of homosexual soulmates." Madame Pompfree looked curious rather than disgusted, which Harry took as a good sign.

"So you don't mind?"

"Can say that it is my business. But it is not an easy path, dear, not easy at all." Madame Pompfree sighed.

Harry shrugged, it wasn't as if he had a choice in the matter no matter what now that he seemed to have a secret soulmate hiding about. "But what if it is a girl and..."

"Nonsense, this person contains a matching piece of your soul. You will be perfect for each other in every way imaginable. Even if it is someone you have known for years as soon as your souls recognize each other you will find an instant companion. It is said that the love of a soul-bonded pair is the strongest there is." It was a little off putting how the usually businesslike mediwitch was suddenly gushing like a romance novel.

"Ok. But if it can be anyone how do I know if I have found them."

"I suppose you will know when the time is right. As it usually becomes apparent when you come of age your case may be unique. Also because of the sadness that seems to be emanating through your soul-bond something may be deeply troubling your mate. I would follow your instincts in this case. But Harry, do try to stay out of trouble."

Harry gave her a sardonic smile, "Somehow it always seems to find me, regardless!"

Madame Pompfree laughed, looking over at the clock, "Oh, look at the time, well past curfew. I shall have to send you back with a note!"

That night in his bed Harry's head was filled with a combination of wonder and dread at the idea of a soulmate. By the time light started to appear on the horizon Harry had accepted since there was no way around it he would try to make the most of the situation. A small bubble of hope had grown in his chest that finally he would find someone to love who would truly love him back.

Another month past at Hogwarts. Harry was have more frequent episodes where he would feel the terror that his soulmate seemed to constantly be consumed by. Harry was increasingly conserned about his soulmate, whoever they may be. He no longer cared if they were male or female, he just wished to help and protect them. He was no closer, however, to figuring out who it was. Harry had the growing sensation that he wasn't seeing something that was right in front of him. It was exceedingly frustrating.

It was the day before Halloween and everyone seemed to be even more excited than usual. The Halloween Feast was to be followed by a scary movie marathon in the great hall featuring classic muggle movies. Ron had blushingly asked Hermione to accompany him to the movies, which meant that they would probably be snogging the whole time which made it even less appealing to Harry. He would probably just spend the night in his bed waiting for the horrible visions Voldemort was sure to send him. It was Halloween after all, he always had big plans for Halloween.

Harry escaped the common room, where all anyone could talk about were the next day's festivities, and decided to visit Hagrid before curfew. He made his way down to his friends hut and spent an hour discussing Hagrid's latest project. This, of course, led to a little jaunt into the forbidden forest so that Hagrid could show Harry the pond where he was breeding a large frog with fangs and little wings, that as of yet were too weak to heft the pudgy bodies off the ground. By the time they returned to the grounds Harry realized he had once again missed curfew. A quick note from Hagrid and Harry was rush back to the castle.

Harry had just made it to the bottom of the front steps when a wave of agony so severe it took him to his knees. He was overwhelmed with terror and hopelessness that Harry could never have even imagined. As the feelings lifted Harry knew, without a doubt that his mate was in serious trouble and that if he didn't find them right away something terrible was going to happen. The only issue that he now had was that he had no idea how to find them.

Harry concentrated on the feelings that he got from his mate. He drew in upon himself, mentally probing his magic. After a few moments he seemed to find a thread of magic that felt different. Focusing on that feeling Harry drew his wand.

He closed his eyes and whispered, "Point me!"

When he opened his eyes his wand was pointing inside the castle. Harry took off at a run, following the spell and hoping that his mate was truly in the castle.


	2. Chapter 2

As Harry entered the entrance hall his wand tip veered towards the staircase. It wasn't until he hit the fourth floor that he paused to catch his breath and recast the spell. He took a moment braced against the wall taking great lungful a of air. As he pushed off the wall, he spotted a glimmer of red on the stone floor. Bending down he realized it was a droplet of blood.

Looking up and down the hall Harry saw more droplets scattered hear and there. Seemingly of its own volition Harry's hand reached out and touched the closest drop. Instantly he knew that this was his mate's blood. Harry didn't even pause to wonder at the power of the magic that allowed him to recognize his mate from a drop of blood. He was running faster now, not even realizing that he wasn't even looking at his point me spell, that his body seemed to instinctively know where to go. He slowed as he reached the bottom of the stairs to the astronomy tower. There were larger blood drop here, splashed up the stairs, and in places smeared on the walls. His mate was in trouble and if someone was with them it wouldn't do to alert them of his approach by thundering up the stairs.

Suddenly very happy all of those nights sneaking around under his invisibility cloak trained him how to walk silently, Harry started up the stairs. The door at the top was ajar and Harry peered through the crack. At first he didn't notice anything, the whole tower seemed empty. Then the sound of sobbing made his eyes sweep back across the open space. Once he saw him Harry had no idea how he had overlooked the figure slumped against the outer wall, for Draco Malfoy was truly a sight to behold in the moonlight. Even with eyes and nose watering and an expression of agony on his face he was beautiful.

This was not a new thought to Harry. Draco had, on more than one occasion, featured in Harry's fantasies. For as much as they argued, Draco was still gorgeous, and smart...and looked ridiculously sexy in a pair of tight jeans. Their arguments had tapered off over the last year to the point that they were nearly civil when interacting in class. Harry couldn't recall even exchanging snide comments with the blond since the start of term. In fact, Harry had barely seen the Slytherin this year. Looking back Harry knew Draco had been in class, but the normally outspoken boy seemed to have blended into the background. Now that Harry thought about it he found it odd that he hadn't noticed Draco more often this term. Over the past two years he had frequently found himself staring at the blond and daydreaming about his skin, or his hair, or his eyes, or his lips, or his ear...he had the most edible looking ears! Maybe that had been the soul-bond thing showing itself...Maybe on a subconscious level he had known that he and the other boy shared a connection. He wondered if Draco was aware he had a soulmate. Was their connection only one sided? What if Harry fell in love with Draco but the blond didn't return his feelings?

Harry shook his head to clear his thoughts. His mate was obviously in distress and Harry had his head in the clouds. Harry's first reaction was to throw open the door, rush over and comfort his mate. Yet knowing Draco, that may not be the best coarse of action, especially when taking into account their past. His Gryffindor tendencies were more likely to get him hexed than welcomed. Instead he slowly opened the door, allowing its creaking hinges to announce his presence.

Draco's head shot up at the noise and his grey eyes connected with Harry's for just a moment before his head collapsed forward to rest against his knees.

"What do you want, Potter?" The words were most likely meant to sound sharp and cutting, but instead they just sounded sad and hollow.

"I want to help."

Draco snorted derisively, "Yeah, of course, Hero Potter here to save the day. Don't bother Potter, there are some people not worth saving."

"Don't say that!" Harry cried a little more sharply than he intended.

"Sorry to dash your Gryffindor sensibilities, Potter, but it is true. Some of us are too tainted for even your goodness to provide salvation. Some are just meant to be swallowed by the dark."

Harry took a step forward so that he was no longer in the doorway, but instead on the dark balcony with his mate. "Life isn't all about light and dark, or good and evil. There is good and evil in everyone. Even me and even you."

Draco stood and turned around, looking out over the castle grounds below. His voice sounded broken when he spoke, "Can you just leave. I need to be alone."

"No." Harry said softly, stepping up beside Draco, "I think you have been alone long enough."

"DAMN IT!" Draco suddenly exploded. He fisted his hands in his hair leaning his elbows on the stone wall in front of him. "I am such a coward!"

Harry was startled by the outburst and almost jumped away from the blond boy, "No Draco your not...Draco is that blood?"

In all of the commotion Harry had forgotten about the blood he had seen trailing up here. It wasn't until he saw the hands fisted in Draco's hair that he noticed the bloody trail left through the pale locks. Draco brought his hands in front of his face and stared at them as if they belonged to another person. His entire left hand was coated in thick red blood. Now that Harry looked around he saw a decent sized puddle and a bloodied knife where Draco had been sitting just moments before.

"Draco," Harry said softly, as if approaching a wild deer, "let me see your hand."

Draco looked at him blearily, as if not quite registering who he was. Harry cautiously stepped forward and examined the bloody hand. There were no visible wounds. The blood seemed to be coming from further up his arm, but in the dark and with the darkness of Draco's robes Harry couldn't clearly see. Harry silently used his wand and levitated Draco's left sleeve up to his elbow. The state of Draco's forearm would have turned Harry's stomach if not for all of the experience he had with gore from his training with Madame Pompfree.

The entire inside of his arm was a mess of jagged, torn flesh. It even looked as if it may have been peeled away in places. Still visible in the bloody mess was a deformed dark mark imprinted on the pale flash.

"Oh, Draco, what did you do?" Harry whispered almost to himself.

"I want him out of me," Draco choked out, clenching his fist and causing more blood to pump out of his arm. "I want him out but he is in too deep."

Draco started to sob again and Harry reached out, pulling the slender boy into a one armed hug. Harry could feel every bone in the other boy's shoulders and spine. He had a momentary worry about Draco's dietary habits before focusing on the more pressing issue. "Draco, listen. I am going to take care of you, ok? I am going to heal your arm a little and then we will go see Madame Pompfree and..."

"Don't bother. I came up here to...to..." He looked out over the wall and Harry's stomach plummeted.

"No, no. You can't want to die!"

Draco shook his head, wiping his eyes with his right hand, "No, I don't but I don't want to live my life...I couldn't do it anyway. I am too much of a coward. I don't want to die. I really don't want to!"

"Oh, thank Merlin!" Harry gripped his shoulder tightly, "May I heal you arm for you then?"

Draco looked at his arm in disgust, then up at Harry and nodded.

"Ok, this will feel cold at first but then you shouldn't feel a thing." Harry cast a numbing spell over the area before starting the delicate process of closing the major blood vessels. Judging from the amount on the ground Draco had lost a lot of blood. He probably would not have lasted much longer without passing out and eventually bleeding to death. Harry worked quickly and soon had all of the bleeding stopped. The wound was still jagged and open, but Draco was out of immediate danger. "Alright let's go down and see Madame Pompfree and she will get this patched up so well you won't even know it happened."

Draco jerked himself away from Harry's grip on his shoulder, "NO!"

"Shhh, it is ok, she will help..."

"No, no...I have to get away from here...she will keep me cooped up and he will get to me and then...and then...I have to leave." He was practically hyperventilating his eyes wide and dilated.

Harry reached out and grasped Draco's face in his hands, pulling him forward so that their foreheads were touching and their eyes connected. "Breathe, Love. Come on with me. Big deep breaths in and out."

Harry took long deep breaths, eventually coaching Draco to do the same. As he did his thumbs started to unconsciously stroke Draco's cheeks. This caused the other boy to relax more fully, his eyes closing to half massed. The touch of his skin felt wonderful, like some exotic silk, and wherever their skin touched it was as if tiny static charges were discharging. Harry could have stayed in that position for hours, just lightly stroking his mate's face. Draco's eyes fell closed and he started to make a noise somewhere between a coo and a hum in the back of his throat. It was a moment of peace for both boys in a time of upheaval.

After a few minutes Harry pulled himself out of his blissed-out daze. His mate was still hurt and was obviously in serious trouble. The urge to protect what was his welled strong in Harry's chest. Letting his fingers cease their stroking Harry pulled his head away a few inches.

"Draco," he called softly and watched as Draco's unfocused eyes blinked open at him, "Would you let me heal you arm the rest of the way? It may not be as pretty as Madame Pompfree may do it, but I can manage."

Draco nodded, his eyes not quite losing that far away quality.

Harry lifted Draco's hand, intertwining their fingers as he waved his wand hand over the wound seaming the skin together. It wasn't a perfect job, and the dark mark seemed distinctly lopsided and the skull dented. Overall an improvement really. Harry banished the blood on the floor as well as the knife. "There that will do for now. How about we sit and have a good talk?"

Draco nodded again, and they sank to the floor, hands still intwined.

They sat in silence for a few moments before Draco finally pulled himself together enough to talk. "Your my..."

"Soul-bonded, yeah. I figured that out."

Draco took a deep, shuddering breath, "I didn't think I would have one. I am not a real Veela, you know?"

"Umm, I don't really know anything. I am just kinda flying by the seat of my pants here. I didn't even know what type of creature my soulmate would be, but I could feel you." Harry squeezed Draco's hand, "I am kinda glad it is you."

"You shouldn't be." Draco sighed, "My life is royally fucked up."

Harry laughed at that, "You realize that I lived in a cupboard until I was eleven, my face gets splattered across the news in scandals at least once a month, and I have a crazed maniac out to kill me. Believe me, I can handle fucked up."

"The Dark Lord is making me his concubine tomorrow." Draco whispered.

Harry stared at him flabbergasted, "What?!"

"Yeah, I am going to be the fuck toy of the Dark Lord. Bound by blood to serve his every desire." Draco's voice was whisper soft and hollow as if he had no hope of changing his fate. He started to cry again, quietly this time. Silent tears ran down his cheeks as he looked off into space.

Harry began stroking his thumb in circles along the back of his neck, "Tell me, tell me and we can fix it. I won't let anyone hurt you."

"He and my father made a deal and have been working on it since summer. They preformed a dark blood ritual that transformed me into a full Veela. The Malfoys have had Veela blood for centuries since we originate from France, but it is very diluted. After the ritual the Dark Lord started me on potions that would trigger my maturity faster so he wouldn't have to wait until I turned seventeen. You see, he can't...touch me...until I am fully developed, or else it could damage the power boost that mating with a full Veela gives a wizard." Draco lent into Harry's shoulder, "I don't want him to touch me."

"He won't." Harry felt furry burning in his chest that another planned on claiming what was his, "I won't let him. I promise Draco, I won't let him."

Harry let Draco cry into his shoulder for a while until he seemed to have calmed some. "Let's go talk this over with Dumbledore. He may have a safe place for us to go."

It was odd to so suddenly think of leaving school. Harry would never have even contemplated leaving Hogwarts before, but he knew with a soul deep certainty that he belonged by his mates side, no matter where that may be.

"I can't leave the school. If I do my father can track my whereabouts since I am still underage. Hogwarts' wards block the head of a family from tracing their offspring, but if I step one foot off of school grounds he would sense it. And I can't stay here, twice now when I attempted to ignore the Dark Lord's summons his spies have planted port keys on me to take me to him. I have nowhere to go and no way to hide." Draco did not raise his head from Harry's shoulder all while he talked. The contact seemed to be calming him a small bit.

"Maybe if we ask Dumbledore he will have a solution..."

Draco shook his head. "His resistance is riddled with spies from the Dark Lord. The old man is just to trusting and lets practically anyone join. In is only a matter of time before one of them imperios him, or slips him some veritaserum, or something."

Harry was shocked by this. The Order of the Phoenix had Voldemort's spies in it. Although after Harry thought about it for a a moment it did make sense. There wasn't exactly an intensive screening process to join. Normally it was just the headmaster's word vouching for an individual, and everybody just trusted Dumbledore's judgment. The headmaster often acted as if he was omniscient, but he couldn't know everything. Hadn't Harry's own experiences shown that the man didn't even know what was going on in his own school most of the time. Every year people were able to sneak in right under his nose. Maybe he was going senile in his old age. Maybe he wasn't as fit to be a leader as everyone always thought. Wasn't one of the most important parts of being a leader recognizing your own deficiencies. Harry stored these thoughts in the back of his mind to mull over later and focused on the problem at hand.

Harry stroked Draco's shaking back soothingly, "So we can't leave the castle because your father can get to you as soon as we leave. We can't stay because Death eaters can get to you here. And we can't go to Dumbledore because he is incompetent."

"There is no way out." Draco choked, "At least I got to meet you as my mate before he gets me. Do you think...do you think you could bond with me, so just once I will know what is like to love my mate."

"Hush, don't talk like that love. We will bond, but it won't be some rushed affair on the hard ground just so some maniac can rape you after. Let me think a minute." Harry kissed Draco's forehead, ignoring the tingles that talk of bonding sent through his body.

Harry and Draco clung to each other tightly as Harry tried to think of a way around their current predicament. Draco burrowed his face against the skin of Harry's neck, taking deep deaths as if trying to memorize his mate's scent. Harry could feel his soul bonded's tears soaking his robes. Harry felt his own tears welling up at the impossibility of the situation. He wanted to stay positive but he couldn't help but feel overwhelmed. He had just found his mate and felt so complete and wonderful holding him, and the world was about snatch him away. As Harry's first tears escaped he pulled Draco's head up for a soft, sweet kiss.

Tears still streaming their lips met in the most wonderful moment of tenderness. Draco moved his hands up and gripped Harry's shoulders, rubbing small circles with his thumbs as their kiss continued. The kiss remained chaste, just a light press of lips and fluttering of eyelashes against damp cheeks. Harry felt like he was melting, languid heat pooling from his lips and where Draco's hands were resting on his shoulders. He could feel the warmth of each of Draco's fingers, except over the scar that marred his right shoulder and arm from his second year. The entire area surrounding where the basilisk fang had punctured his arm was mostly numb to the touch.

Harry's head suddenly shot up, accidentally knocking his glasses askew on Draco's forehead. "I got it!"

Draco's flushed cheeks and glassy eyes almost made Harry forget his idea in favor of a few more, and deeper, kisses. "Believe me Harry, there is no way for me to escape this place without my father being able to since it!"

"No, we're not going anywhere!" Harry jumped to his feet.

Draco reluctantly stood, gripping Harry's arm for support. He seemed a little woozy and Harry worried about just how much blood his soul-bonded had lost. Harry wrapped his arm around Draco's waist in case the blonde's legs did not hold. "What are you talking about?"

"I will show you, but first we need to get you some blood replenishing potion before you pass out." Harry made sure Draco was holding the wall for support before he started rummaging through his bag that lay forgotten in the doorway to the tower. Tucked in a secret expandable compartment that he had charmed into the back of his bag was his marauders map as well as his invisibility cloak. Pulling both out he checked the infer mercy and saw that Madame Pompfree was in her chambers adjacent to the infirmary. The entire hospital wing had wards that would alert her to anyone's entrance or departure in her domain. Luckily Harry had long since learnt the way to circumvent her simple wards. In fact he been working on warding in his free time for months. When he was studying various shielding techniques, in one of the many defense books he was constantly reading, Harry became curious about the difference between shields and wards. His studies then led him to the possibility of using wards in a battle scenario and encouraged him to look more deeply at the fundamentals of how wards worked.

"Here, get under here and we will get to the hospital wing." Harry held up his invisibility cloak, still checking his map for teachers roaming the halls. When he glanced up at Draco it took a moment for his eyes to focus on his mate, as if he was faded into the background. He blinked a couple times and the blonde came into focus and Harry shrugged, grabbing his hand and tossing the cloak over them both. The cloak could just cover both of them if they squeezed together. Draco was taller than Harry, though only by a few centimeters, but Harry was much broader with muscled packed onto his frame from Quidditch and training. He and Ron had taken to spending much of their weekends sparing in the room of requirement that had done good things for Harry's build. Rod however looked like a half giant. The redhead was as tall as ever and with all of his muscle he looked as if he could tackle a bear. Despite that Ron still managed to trip over his feet every other step and blush any time Hermione so much as glanced at him.

Harry cast a slight featherweight charm on Draco so that if he did suddenly topple it would be easy to support him. Harry doubted if he would even need to charm, however, since Draco was practically just skin and bones. Harry wondered if his mate had purposely been starving himself, or if he was sick. It was a problem he would tackle later, right now he just had to deal with the problem at hand.

Painstakingly slowly he and Draco made their way down flight after flight of stairs. Draco kept a death grip on Harry for support and Harry was hyper aware of Draco's every move ready to catch him should he stumble. It took nearly half of an hour to reach the hospital wing. Once outside the doors Harry whispered to Draco to stay there and stay hidden, and with a quick peck to the pale cheek Harry slipped out from under the cloak and into the hospital wing with only the briefest wave of his wand to defuse the wards. It was odd sneaking into a place that he felt so at home in. He spent so much of his free time in the hospital wing he knew every nook and cranny, and luckily, where everything was kept. It took only a few moments to charm open the locked potions cabinet. Harry didn't even use his wand, he had been practicing wandless unlocking charms in case he was ever captured and held prisoner somewhere. When one was being hunted by a darklord it seemed prudent to be prepared.

Harry grabbed two blood replenishing potions, a handful of calming draughts, and a few of dreamless sleep. Harry also nipped a few blankets, pillows and a hospital gown. He shrunk all of this, slipping it into his pocket and headed back to his mate.

"Draco?" He whispered to the seemingly empty hallway. An invisible hand found his and Harry sighed in relief. He had been half worried that Draco would wander off and pass out somewhere in the cloak and Harry wouldn't be able to find him. Slipping under the cloak again Harry held a blood replenishing potion to Draco's lips. Draco obediently guzzled the liquid without so much as a blink. Harry smiled at the trust his soul-bonded already had in him. "Relax a moment and let the potion start working. Then we will get you hidden."  
Draco nodded and nuzzled his face into Harry's neck doing that cooing humm again. Harry guessed it was rather like a cat purring.

Harry grabbed two blood replenishing potions, a handful of calming draughts, and a few of dreamless sleep. Harry also nipped a few blankets, pillows and a hospital gown. He shrunk all of this, slipping it into his pocket and headed back to his mate.

"Draco?" He whispered to the seemingly empty hallway. An invisible hand found his and Harry sighed in relief. He had been half worried that Draco would wander off and pass out somewhere in the cloak and Harry wouldn't be able to find him. Slipping under the cloak again Harry held a blood replenishing potion to Draco's lips. Draco obediently guzzled the liquid without so much as a blink. Harry smiled at the trust his soul-bonded already had in him. "Relax a moment and let the potion start working. Then we will get you hidden."

Draco nodded and nuzzled his face into Harry's neck doing that cooing humm again. Harry guessed it was rather like a cat purring. Harry took a few moments to run his fingers through Draco's soft hair, basking the comforting moment. Harry wondered if Draco was naturally this cuddly, or if it was the blood loss making him loopy. He hoped it was the former for Harry was enjoying the contact very much.

After a few moments Draco straightened and looked straight in Harry's eyes. For the first time that night his eyes seemed perfectly clear and unclouded by the stupor of blood loss and fear. A wry smile quirkier Draco's lips ever so slightly the the left as he said, "Ok, so what is the plan Potter?"

Harry grinned at seeing some of Draco's spark back, and even better he hadn't let go of Harry's hand either. Harry started to jog, pulling Draco after him, "Come on I will show you! Oh and Draco, since we are soul-bonded don't you think you should call me Harry."

"I suppose we could work out some kind of arraignment." Harry could hear the smirk in the blonde voice and it made him grin broadly. He had been slightly worried that the blonde had lost himself completely to the horror that had become his life, but that old snarky, sassy, blonde that drove Harry to distraction was still in there.


	3. Chapter 3

"You know, if you have to use the loo so badly there is a perfectly good gents loo right around the corner."

Harry grinned cheekily at his bonded, "I am aware, but we going to this loo."

"Why would we want to do that? Isn't this where that weepy ghost hangs out?" Draco looked aghast at the idea of entering a girls lavatory.

"Aww, just come on!" Harry pulled Draco through the door, forcing the issue. Once inside Harry slipped out from under the cloak, motioning to Draco to stay put and stay quite, "Myrtle, you in?"

"Who is it?" A garbled voice came from one of the stalls. Evidently she was relaxing in the bend of one of the toilets again.

"It's me, Harry."

There was a great splash and then Myrtle came barreling through her stall door, "Oh Harry! You hadn't stopped in yet this year!"

"I know, I am sorry Myrtle. It have been putting double hours in with my training. How have things been going with Nick?" Harry questioned.

Myrtle squealed, "He is just soooooo romantic. He is all chivalrous and knightly. He took me on a date to the astronomy tower last week. We had to scare out some Ravenclaws, then we watched the stars. I think he will snog me soon!"

"That is great Myrtle. So he is finally over the age difference?"

"I think so. He kinda backed down after I lost my temper a little and told him, in no uncertain terms, that I may have been a teenager when I died, but that doesn't mean I stay one forever. I ghost has needs you know!" Harry tried not to think of what those needs might be.

"Good for you! Now Myrtle, I need you to do me a favor, and it is not a little one." Harry said conspiratorially.

"Oo, what do you need Harry!" She was practically bouncing with excitement, which was an odd effect when the figure was hovering in the first place.

"I have heard a rumor that Draco Malfoy has gone missing. I need you to spy in the dungeons and see if you can find out anything interesting."

"That sounds like fun! Can I bring Nick along?"

"Sounds good, thank you Myrtle!"

"Any time Harry!" She crowed as she darted out of the bathroom.

Harry sent a strong locking spell at the door then turned to the direction he assumed the cloaked Draco stood, "Should be all clear now."

Draco (only slightly to the left of where Harry assumed) pulled off the cloak, "I really hope your plan gets better than hiding in a girls loo."

"Oh it defiantly does. Myrtle is a dear, but can't keep a secret to save her life...or well her afterlife...or whatever. Soon the entire castle will know your missing and be hunting for you." Harry gave a surreptitious pat to his robe pocket to check if his Firebolt was still shrunken inside from Quiddich earlier that day.

"Isn't that a bad thing!"

"No, it will convince Lord Moldybutt that you have indeed run off and he will try looking for you elsewhere." Harry walked over to the last sink, polishing the faucet with his sleeve.

"Yeah, until I am found just standing in the middle of a girls loo!" Draco seemed like he was about to lose it so Harry reached out and tugged him close.

"Relax, my love," Harry softly kissed his temple then gave a low hiss and as the sink began to slide from the wall Harry jumped, pulling Draco along in his arms.

Surprisingly enough Draco did not scream or yell at the abrupt plunge down a dark hole. All the blonde did was tighten his grip on Harry as they sped down the slimy tunnel. The landing was jarring, compounded by the fact that their limbs had gotten tangled on the way down. This resulted in Draco's elbow catching Harry's stomach and Harry's knee getting bent slightly awkwardly underneath them both.

Harry whispered the word "close" in parceltounge and was relieved when he heard the echo of the sink sliding back into place far above. Draco was still clutching onto Harry, his face buried in the stronger boy's neck.

"Thanks for the warning." Draco groused, as soon as he seemed in control enough to speak.

"Sorry, I didn't want to give you a change to talk yourself out of the plunge."

Draco relaxed his hold on Harry, although he didn't let go completely, and looked around at the pitch black that surrounded them. "What is this place?"

Harry helped his mate to his feet and let him go in order to fish out his wand. Harry cast a bright lumos, lighting the small area, "This, Draco, is the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets."

There was a soft thud and Harry whirled around to see that Draco had fainted.

Harry knelt down beside the unconscious boy. Harry was unsure if he had fainted due to blood loss or just shock. he cast a mild enervate and watched as Draco slowly blinked his eyes open.

"Did you just say 'the Chamber of Secrets'! As in Salizar Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets?!"

"That would be the only one I am aware of, so yes." Harry helped Draco to his feet for the second time in the las five minutes, "I haven't been here since second year, but with the basilisk gone I figure it is a good place to hide out."

"A basilisk?!"

"It is ok, I killed it second year. But if you hear any hissing close your eyes just in case." Harry was sure the basilisk he met in second year was dead, but it seemed quite possible that Salizar could have stashed another somewhere. Harry began to lead a fairly dazed Draco down the pipe that let to the chamber. He made sure that the second batch of blood replenishing potion was still safely stowed in his pocket. He was sure that at least some of Draco's haziness had to do with his blood loss. He would still have to wait another hour of so before administering another dose.

"Wait you killed a basilisk at twelve?" Draco asked shrilly.

Harry scratched his neck awkwardly,making the wand light bob and cast eerie shadows along the walls, "Well Faux helped...and of course I had the sword of Gryffindor..."

"Oh of course you did." Harry could hear the snark in Draco's voice and it made him smile again. He hadn't realized how much he had missed the blonde's sass this term.

Just then they reached the point of the cave in caused by Lockheart. Harry began to describe the happenings of their second year from his perspective as they climbed up and squeezed through the opening at the top of the pile. It had seemed bigger in the past, but then Harry realized he was much bigger now at sixteen than he had been at twelve. Draco seemed to have an easier time of it since he was considerably thinner than Harry. Once they were through Harry took Draco's hand again as he led on.

"Just how far is this place?" Draco whined. Some other may have found this rude, but Harry could see the absolute exhaustion underlying the blonde's complaint. Draco wasn't just whining, he was covering up that he truly couldn't continue much longer.

Harry kissed Draco's temple, "Not much further, love. Would you like me to levitate you the rest of the way?"

Draco sighed, "No, I can make it."

True to Harry's word, not two more minutes of walking brought the two boys to the ornately carved chamber. Nothing had changed in the years since Harry had last been here. Water still lapped over the path, giant stone snake heads lurking menacingly in the shadows. The basalisk was little more than a hulking skeleton with scarce strips of dried, scaled skin clinging to the bone.

"What is that!" Draco squeezed in fear, as the dim wand light danced around the skeleton making it seem to shift and move in the shadows.

"Don't worry love, it is just the remains of that old snake I was telling you about." Harry moved closer to the old corpse and then conjured a giant tablecloth to cover it, "I will get it out of here later. I am sorry if it bothers you."

"How did you kill that thing, it is freaking huge!"

"I will tell you the whole story another time. Let's see if we can get settled in somewhere." Harry looked around the large, damp stone room. It wasn't exactly homey, nor elegant. Probably not quite up to Malfoy standards. "I suppose we need some better light in here."

Harry pointed his wand at the high, dark ceiling and focused on casting Lumos Maxima. It was s simple enough spell, but he had not yet had a reason to use it out of class. Luckily it worked on the first try and a huge ball of white light flew out his wand to float along the ceiling.

"Merlin! Scarred of the dark, Harry?" Draco groused holding a hand up to shield his eyes from the blinding light.

"Huh, I guess I need to practice that spell more." Harry said glancing momentarily at the ridiculously large ball of light. The ones he had made in charms had not been nearly as large, nor as bright. "Well at least we can see now!"

The light didn't really help the atmosphere at all. Despite the miniature sun twinkling merrily in the rafters the chamber still held a gloomy, oppressive air.

"There isn't really much to it, but it is probably the last place anyone would think to look for you." Harry said, "I will sneak some furniture and stuff down here and we can maybe raise the floor so it is not as wet, and conjure some sort of walls eventually to make it a bit more homey..."

"What are you talking about, Potter?" Draco said tiredly, "This is just an entrance hall."

"Huh? I thought this was the chamber."

Draco sighed, as if he couldn't really believe that Harry was really that dense, "It is obviously just as entrance hall. All of the ancient pureblood castles have the same basic layout. This is a traditional entrance hall design. Note the tall columns and the intricate stone work. The Slytherin family guardian was the snake, hence the snake guards. The Malfoy palace grounds is similar in layout back in France, albeit a bit less soggy."

"Well if this is just an entrance, shouldn't there be a door?"

"Tradition would dictate that the main entrance be located beneath the family crest."

Harry looked around him cluelessly, "Ummm..."

"Oh, for pity sake, right there!" Draco indicated one section of wall where the carved designs of the chamber formed a serpentine pattern nearly halfway to the tall ceiling. If it weren't for the ridiculously bright light illuminating the space it would have been completely concealed by the shadows. Even with the light Harry never would have picked it out as anything special.

"Do you want me to see if I can figure out how to open it, or would you rather us bunker down here for the night and explore tomorrow." Harry asked, highly aware of Draco's exhausted state.

"I would rather find a place that is a little less waterlogged if possible. But if we can't figure it out quickly we can make do."

Harry released Draco's hand so he could approach the wall below the crest. He ran his hands along it feeling for any fishers, or seams in the rock. There was nothing to feel but cool smooth stone. Taking a step back he hissed the word open in parceltounge. Still nothing. Harry looked at Draco with a helpless shrug.

"What did you just say?"

" 'Open.' Just like upstairs where it opens the sink." Harry explained.

Draco looked pensive for a moment then looked up, "You are beeping rude."

"What?"

"You need to ask for admittance, you can't just tell it to open." Draco spoke slowly as if talking to a child.

"Ummm, ok." Harry turned back to the wall and hissed, "May we please come in?"

Nothing.

"Are you sure about this?" Harry asked.

"Of course not. Now did you ask for admittance?"

"Yes! I asked if we may please come in."

Draco smacked his forehead, "What are you, a muggle? Ask the proper way."

"There is a proper way to ask for a magical door to open?"

"Of course there is. Now listen carefully to me. 'We humbly ask permission to enter the most noble house of Slytherin. We bare no ill will towards that most respected family.' "

"Seriously?"

"Yes, now quickly, my feet are getting cold from this water."

Harry repeated Draco's words in parceltounge and watched with a slackened jaw as the stone seemed to melt into a large open archway, "I can't believe that worked!"

"You obviously have no respect for custom." Draco sniffed, haughtily.

"It isn't like the school offers a pureblood etiquette class for those of us raised by muggles."

"Which is why my family, along with many other pureblood families, have been partitioning the school to add one for generations. In fact it is that exact loss of important customs that caused so many to first turn to the Dark Lord. Unfortunately he spreads madness like a plague."

Harry had to agree. It did seem that those who followed Voldemort became more and more unhinged as they spent more time under his regime.

"Well, do you think we should go in. I mean, it might be booby trapped, or something." Harry eyed the archway nervously. Little could be seen beyond but darkness.

"It is possible, but unlikely. With a basalisk guarding the front door I think that Salizar would have felt safe enough. We should still keep are guard up though." With that Draco again took Harry's hand and both gripped their wands tightly as they approached the darkened space, "How about another of those lights?"

Harry obliged and cast another lumos maxima. The hall they entered was surprisingly cheerful. Well, maybe not quite cheerful, but defiantly a vast improvement over the intimidating entrance. The stone walls were interspersed with large beams of warm wood. Sweeping staircases lay to both the left and right, leading up to a large balcony. Four doors were open to the main hall, and a handful more could be seen upstairs overlooking the balcony.

"Wow." Harry murmured as looked around, "This is like an entire mansion under the castle!"

Draco opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by a pop that had them both jumping and training their wands on the intruder.


End file.
